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Artist: Ovnimoon Title: Trancemutation of the Mind Label: Ovnimoon Records Date: July, 2013 1. A necessary tool 2. Quiet my mind 3. Hooponopono - Ovnimoon with Lupin & Edit Ballai 4. Superlight in the darkness - Ovnimoon with Via Axis 5. Transmutation - Ovnimoon with Pragmatix, E-Mantra and Nova Fractal 6. Sat Nam for me, Sat Nam for you 7. La Danza Espiritual - Ovnimoon with Spirit Architect 8. Learning 9. Power of positive mind - Ovnimoon with Lyctum I've got wood! What did you think I meant? Yeah I'm rebuilding the front porch so I had to hit the big box hardware store. And by rebuilding I mean watching my friend do it as I carry the tools and nails. Then I gotta clean up. But I can tell you this... I think I'm in love. You go through life listening to music hoping you'll meet that special album, that group of tracks that has melodies that go on for miles and more than enough groove in the trunk. And when she says I love you back (Hooponopono), well then, you know you've found the one. Ovnimoon is Hector Stuardo and he runs the Ovnimoon label which has given so much. I mean c'mon, they seem to throw a record out there like every three days. But we forget that he's also an accomplished artist who walks that fine line between psytrance and progressive. Walks it? He backflips across that motherf*cker. Floating and drifting melodies, thumping beats, thick layers of lush atmosphere, and a pair of goa tracks that he shoves right in your face. Yeah, get some! But it's not just two tracks, the goa imprint is all over this. If goa was mud he just tracked it all over you f*cking living room. This is how you do psytrance. Hell this is how you mix goa, psy and progressive to make a brilliant album. It is so utterly rich and detailed you can throw out the old playbook because this is next level. The old rules and cliches no longer apply. This is Tales of Heads awesome and easily one of the best releases of the year 2013. Cue mic drop cause this is a game changer. Psyshop Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Tribal Encore Label: Anjuna Records Date: July, 2013 1. UFOmatka - Vega 2. B.E.T.H. - Back To Blighty (Live Mix) 3. UX - Third Eye (Remix) 4. Aurax - Cone Nebula (Red Meatballs Remix) 5. UFOmatka - Alien's Lair 6. Aurax - Atomic Defloration 7. Jaia - Insomnie 8. Process - Funktion Junktion 9. Sandman - Starfinder (Live Mix) Grand opening, grand closing. This is the story of many goa labels. They come, drop a release that is filled with hope and expectations for the future and then like a cupcake in the hands of my kids...they just disappear. Gone before you know it. Moonquest Records, Ultiva Records, Phototropic Records (this one had some longevity, but had a lot more drama)...Tough to make it as a label in a niche market. For every Suntrip or DAT Records there is a Tranceform Records. So the labels have figured out that you have to release something extraordinary to get the hype machine working. Get people talking about your product. Release music that maybe wasn't catering to a large chunk of the psy audience. But it can't be all about hype. First thing is promotion. Get your message out there early and often. Next a tracklist that includes unreleased or hard to find stuff from the greats of goa trance seems to be the hotness right now. Then you wait. But there is a balance that must be struck. Too short a wait and you can't manufacture the adequate buzz. Can't let people's minds wander and imagine the possibilities. Wait too long and people will forget. We lose interested because, let's face it we're easily distracted. "Holy sh*t it's a f*cking banana! Hey, come look at this!!! You know you never think you're gonna see one and then BAMMM!!! There it is!" Oh and one more thing...make it a limited edition. Make people feel if they don't get this quick (preorder) they'll be missing out. It works, at least with me. To this day I still haven't heard Mind Rewind. But ultimately (and rightly so) it comes down to the music. Anjuna is a new label that did all of these things. Our scene seems to release music daily and the majority of it is the same generic nonsense that sounds like everything else. This label's debut features a collection of rarities and new tracks that has put the psychedelic back into psychedelic trance. It's a mixture of belting goa trance and trippy psytrance. There are plenty of WTF sounds as well as soaring melodies in this compilation that touches several genres. Vega sparkles with shiny lights but also has sharp 303 teeth hidden just beneath the surface. Back To Blighty has never been appealing to me, but this heavily techno influenced live mix...something about it. Then there was the next track. I was excited as anyone would be when I saw a track from maestro Kris Kylven and here he does his best NIN impression with guitar crunch and primal screams. This isn't goa or psy (or even trance), but screaming rage over a breakbeat. Yeah, ummm...no, I'll see myself out. Aurax gets things back on track with the Red Meatballs remix of Cone Nebula and c'mon who doesn't like meatballs? I'm not sure if the remix is old or he did it for this comp, but it's a good blending of psy and goa. Unfortunately UFOmatka's 2nd track isn't as deep as the first, but the second Aurax offering is cosmic deliciousness. Then came goa Jesus. Apparently getting Jaia to release a goa track from the past is harder than a senior citizen with a lifetime supply of Viagra. I don't care how they did it, but I thank you (as I'm sure my dead grandpa's boner would) for releasing that classic. Hopefully the floodgates will opern for that project and we'll see a lot of great things. Which brings me to the final two tracks. Funktion Junktion is a psytrance track with a plethora of cyber sounds that makes me feel like I'm deep in their hardware. The compilation closes with a long track by Sandman that has a moon landing feel to it. Alien sounds abound but I wasn't on board until the break. It was ok, but I believe this to be concrete evidence that increased track length doesn't always equate to epic status. Anjuna is following Zion604's lead in releasing hard to find rarities and unreleased tracks from yesteryear. It sounds fantastic (nods to Tim Schuldt) even if I'm not thrilled with all the tracks. The mixing of old and new worked very well and there is something for anyone who follows our music. Congratulations Anjuna, a really good compilation that has me looking forward to what you will come up with next. Bandcamp Mdk

Artist: Trinodia Title: Ignorant Label: Goa Records Date: July, 2013 1. Halfdeaph 2. Violins on Acid 3. Whispering Truths 4. Hunger For E.S.P. 5. Ignorant 6. Groove It Up 7. Enya E Inte Rejv 8. It's All Static 9. Voxel9 - Transita Astra I'm ignorant about a lot of things. I mistakenly thought the country of Georgia was in the Balkans. I still don't understand the need for geometry proofs or why anyone would want to watch someone defecate on another person. Guess I'm innocent. But the list doesn't end there. Take this album for example. No it's not a new CD even though the guy is quite prolific. This is a remastered album of material from 2004 and is exactly what you would expect from the psytrance genre back then. Full on without the goa prowess he regularly wields today. A heavy sci-fi atmosphere and lots of sound effects with too many empty stretches will be found here. Tracks like Halfdeaph and Groove It Up shine the brightest for me both being quality twilight numbers. The last two tracks weren't on the original release with the last one being from his downtempo/ambient project. Liked that one also. Sounded like the dawn after a thunderstorm. He's been around a long time and this album shows just how far he has come from hawking Cds he burned himself out of the trunk of a Nissan Sentra after gigs. Cause ummm...you can't touch him now. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Twilight Title: Space of Time Label: Airglow Records Date: July, 2013 1. Higher Mind 2. Dopamine feat Biotouch 3. Feel the Music 4. Space of Time feat. Double Tech 5. Silent Hill - That's Too Much (Twilight Rmx) 6. Designer Dreams 7. Electroholics - Plutonic Universe (Twilight rmx) 8. Bass Walk 9. Undergroove feat Shake 10. Raindrops Falling "Substances, drugs affect the way your body works." Really? Chick does nothing for me. Nothing. Might as well ask me to stick my dick in a cactus. This is Javier Martinez from Mexico who also has a progressive trance project called Unseen Dimensions. As Unseen Dimensions he released an EP called Airglow, which just happens to be the name of his own label. So it's all connected in a six degrees of Kevin Bacon kinda way. To find out more about this release do yourself a favor and don't read the promo. It will make you dumber by the sentence. Don't they proofread these things? Putting a native English speaker on the payroll wouldn't be the worst idea. I know a guy if you're interested. As Twilight he released Angels Calling back in 2009 which was way better than what I was expecting. Nope, not fair. It was damn good. So with this album he combines the lush soundscapes he perfected as Unseen Dimensions and blends it with full on and Tiesto trance. Yep the floodgates are open, prepare for the cheese. But it never* came *Oh yes the hell it did! I mean I got a little wet, but not drenched, If I'm honest I wanted to hate this. Really I did. But you know what? I couldn't.* *Until a few seconds went by. Sure there are some cheesy moments but it's nowhere near the sh*tstorm I thought it was going to be.* *Yes it was. The full on isn't bad and his penchant for elaborate productions jam packed with sounds creates a sort of enjoyable balance. I liked the percussive interludes he put in the tracks like on his remix of That's Too Much or the beginning of Plutonic Universe. It's actually a refreshing change of pace album after being submerged in awesome goa trance and all the deep and mystical crap that goes with it. And boy does it sound great. Crystal clear. That said the novelty wears off after a few and then I'm looking at myself like I just had two big macs instead of working out. "Little did Angela Merkel know that cameras had been installed in all diplomat hotel rooms since the touchy feely years of the Bush Presidency." Yep it goes downhill fast. Sucked into a vortex of stops and starts, annoying samples, autotune, and full on malaise. So take it with a grain of salt. He didn't redefine the genre (far from it, he just added another shiny slimy coating to the sh*t pile) and most of the samples were eye rollers. This isn't going to be in anyone's top...100. But it was also filled with enough good tricks to make it... fun. Yeah it's kinda fun. If only for a little while. A very. Little. While. Now if you'll excuse me I have a date with a cactus. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Up To Next Step Label: Goalogique Records Date: July, 2013 1. Goa Psy Cry MINOMAR 2. Buddham Mantra PHANT OM X 3. The Prayer PURE ENERGY 4. Strange Happenings ANCIENT ALIEN 5. Lunar Voyages I SOMNESIA 6. Awaiking Fairies CACTUS ARISING 7. Space Haze JAGOA 8. Only Psychopaht Would EVELYN 9. Dragons Breath METAMORPHOSIS 10. Jupiter CARBON It's good to be a goa trance fan these days. The established labels like Suntrip and DAT Records keep throwing out quality music to temporarily satiate our voracious appetite, but unlike the early days of the resurgence there seem to be more releases than we can keep track of. UAF and Neogoa have been holding down the digital fort and now we have the very prolific Timewarp Records. Sita and Cronomi keep it real with Dimensional a Ezel-Ebed pitching in every now and then. Add to mix Zion604 and Anjuna and we now have an old school flavor. Yep, good to be a goa fan. Bad to be a wallet. May I now introduce to you the newest label to throw their hat into the ring, Goalogique Records. A Belgian label run by a chap named Bora Bilgin they opened up shop in 2012 with this compilation. The first thing that will jump out at you is the horrible artwork. Since this is their first foray into the market you gotta cut them a little slack. Gotta crawl before you can walk. Next thing is the lack of recognizable artists. I've heard of Somnesia of course, but none of the others. This is of course not a negative by any stretch of the imagination. How many times have the well known projects just mailed it in? I love goa trance like a lot of you. The more I can get the better. So it's with open arms I welcome Bora and his label to the show. But this sounds like a debut compilation. The sound quality is fine, but it seems like the artists are trying to find their way. The compositions lack complexity and depth. Somnesia is again the exception, but he's hardly a newbie. It's not a great compilation, but neither is it terrible. Average would be fair. I think the tracks needed more development and that comes with practice. I liken it to a rookie who gets his first shot in the NHL. The potential is there, but he has to improve his game otherwise it's bye bye chartered jet plane and hello 10 hour bus ride. I will still buy it because I'm a collector and I want to support the scene, but there are way better goa trance albums out there. Let's see what they can do with the next compilation. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Psilocybian & Black Noise Title: Space Is a Strange Place EP Label: BMSS Records Date: July, 2013 1. Space Bubble 2. God Is A Mathematician 3. Crystal Extractor "So we're nothing but a soap bubble floating in a bubble bath of soap bubbles." First you had Brain Dissolver (soon to be released, check it out it's pretty good). Then he raised the bar with a f*cking rocket on his latest album Dreamtime. And to show you he wasn't a one or two trick pony he let you see his goa side as Screw Loose with the Mental Well Being EP. All around nice guy and psytrance artist Sasa Dukic is not only proficient he is consistent in delivering the quality music we crave. His latest effort has him teamed up with someone who calls himself Black Noise. As talented as the people in Croatia seem to be it wouldn't surprise me if this was his plumber. Or the security guy at the local Wal Martski. Maybe it's the weather chick on TV. Point is seems a lot of artists are coming out of that neck of the woods. And asses are getting kicked. Space Bubble is heavily layered psytrance with lots happening here including a gurgling 303 and a nice break. God Is a Mathematician sounds heavier with a more liquid sound. The power with which it began had me hoping for a greater climax, but it was still rock solid. Crystal Extractor is the last track of the ep and was a solid bit of full-on. The whole thing screams quality psytrance touched by goa with a sound reminiscent of Braincell. Well, what Braincell used to sound like (I'll get into that later). If you've enjoyed his previous stuff this will be right up your alley. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Battlestar Label: TesseracT Studio Date: July, 2013 1. Atmospheric (The Riddler rmx) L-XIR 2. Voyager One COPYCAT 3. Gypsy Magic MOLOK, SUBLIMINAL CODES 4. Unravel FLEGMA 5. Highly Addictive LYCTUM 6. Rabbit Hole AQUALIZE 7. Flux (Lyctum rmx) ZEN MECHANICS, FLEGMA AND NERSO 8. Full Moon MIDDLE MODE, NERSO VS ZYCE 9. Unimation (Micky Noise rmx) ZYCE AND NERSO 10. Tune In SIDEFORM "I don't know who I am. I don't know who I am...becoming." You're Phil. And you work in accounting. Tesseract...my Serbian homies. Always ready to deliver some quality progressive trance. I would call this a solid release. Not my favorite, but it's peppered with good tracks and a few great ones. Nothing was bad and I was pleasantly surprised by the Mickey Noise remix which also happened to be my favorite track. Floating and melodic with a pinch of groove. Psyshop Beatspace Mdk

Artist: Shivax Title: State of Mind Label: Sita Records Date: July, 2013 1. Golden Xstasy 2. Space Dancing 3. Dimethyal Trip 4. Gayatri 5. Om Namah 6. Age Of Enlightenment 7. State Of Mind 8. Power Absorber (feat. Agneton) 9. Hava 10. Genesis "And if you don't believe drugs have done anything good for us do me a favor. Go home tonight and take all of your albums, all of your tapes, all of your CDs and burn them. Cause you know what, the musicians that made all that great music that's enhanced your life throughout the years were real high on f*cking drugs." No sir, didn't like it. The music, not the sample. The sample is f*cking awesome. Like Jim Carrey nitzhonot is an acquired taste. I can't stand Jim Carrey no matter what role he plays. He is a buffoon pure and simple. Some people love his low brow brand of comedy, it's just not for me. And nitzhonot is the same thing. I love Agneton's music because he straddles the line between goa and nitzho keeping it pumping, dark, and cheese free. Not so here. You'll find plenty of stops and starts, frenetic riffs rising and falling, and enough of an ethnic feeling you'll be asking for a side of baba ganoush. To me nitzho is like goa's full-on where purists and old schoolers look to the heavens at the cheesy leads and melodies, but tolerate it because it brings the chicks to the party. Face it hippies, hot chicks don't wanna be bogged down with your heavy goa spiritualism. They wanna dance and shake what dey momma gave 'em. Nitzho is a less serious take and is more interested in a good time than pondering the universe. Take my review with a grain of salt because I'm not a fan of this subgenre. Hell I've had a forum member tell me to go back to my Wizzy Noise CD's when I commented unfavorably on some impossibly mundane darkpsy release. If you're into the nitzho then there's a great chance you'll love this. You can hear his technical skill and the sound production is superb. But you gotta blend my Jim Carrey with something else cause stand alone Jim Carrey ain't good for nobody. Sita Records Beatspace Psyshop Mdk

Artist: Lyctum Title: Vibrations of Life Label: TesseracT Studio Date: July, 2013 1. Cosmic Web 2. Gravity Loss 3. Atmospheric Probe 4. Voice of the Earth 5. Planet Birth 6. Subatomic 7. Quantum Field 8. Eleven (Lyctum Remix) - The Riddler Haven't been listening to much progressive lately, but this release might change that. Nope, it definitely will. Lyctum is Dejan Jovanovic from Serbia (surprise) and his sophomore album is a melodic tour de force. From the opening track he weaves layers of uplifting melodies soaked in delicious reverb. It's a lush wound that completely captivates the listener, sometimes aggressive sometimes ethereal. Breaks are well placed and bursting with emotion punctuated frequently with chopped up chants and choirs. There is a clear nod to a higher power while at the same time stretching the boundaries of the universe as we know it. The whole thing is less like and album and more akin to an atmospheric tale unfolding in 4/4 time. The entire album is fantastic, but special kudos for out eerie-ing Goran with his remix of Eleven. Highly recommended and brilliant stuff I haven't heard since Shuma by E-Clip. Beatspace Psyshop Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Sideffect Label: Psynews Date: July, 2013 01 - Paul Eye & Olisan - Daikaisho (132 BPM) 02 - Hierophant - Intergalactic Love Song (133 BPM) 03 - Zero Point Module - Chromatic Fail (147 BPM) 04 - Kacid - Confusing Patterns (148 BPM) 05 - Saluberrimae - Fl0ating (120 BPM) 06 - Radioactive Sandwich - Sound Vibration Technique (75 BPM) 07 - Seismic Activity - Revelation (140 BPM) 08 - Imba - Moon Tribe (142 BPM) 09 - Lapsus - Normality (147 BPM) 10 - PhonoPhora - Phunnel (Version 1.1) (87 BPM) I didn't really know Koen. Spoke to him a few times and the conversations were always pleasant. But when you're used to "seeing" somebody as active as he was in the Psynews forum suddenly...not be there...it's a shock. I don't know the details of his passing nor do I feel I should. All I can hope for is that he found peace wherever he is. As the promo says this was a contest where members of the Psynews community submitted tracks in a bid to be featured on a compilation. I don't know if this was always planned to be dedicated to Koen or not, but it's a nice gesture and one I imagine he would have appreciated. Voted on by the community this is the result. Mastered by Deimos and artwork by Gasolin3, it's ten tracks of varying bpm's and numerous genres. Daikaisho- The first track is a gentle progressive trance number that is a nice opener and helps to ease you into this compilation. Soft melodies and bubbling sounds. Intergalactic Love Song- Didn't Stone Temple Pilots have a hit with...oh, that was Interstate. So obviously we're going bigger. Strong beat and smooth electric piano with long sweeps make this a pumping progressive track. Chromatic Fail- A galloping futuristic darkish track with metallic leads. Not bad. Confusing Patterns- Really like the deep bass line, it's got quite the rumble. It's a forest track with a lush atmospheric feel. Sticky synth sounds abound as the sound manipulation moves full force. Two really good breaks as well. What are they saying? Fl0ating- Smooth and oscillating downtempo that has spiraling leads in a goa fashion. The break felt organic when all the synths dropped out, nice touch. Sound Vibration Technique- And now a track by the very busy Sandwich! Dubby vibes slowly make their way across a picturesque beach. Strings are plucked, vocals are chopped...It'll keep your head nodding. Revelation- Good goa trance track that twists the cutoff knob for all it's worth. Once it gets going it's pretty powerful. Moon Tribe- I believe Imba was the winner of this contest. With this track he stokes the conspiracy fire as the sample about UFO's plays out. Normality- Lapsus delivers the best track of the compilation with a shimmery and ominous effort. Most aggressive also. Very cosmic and one that will hurtle you through hyperspace. Phunnel (Version 1.1)- Closing the compilation is a downtempo track that morphs into a deep trance track. Also very dreamy as the dance of the galaxy marches on. I didn't feel it was proper to crack jokes on a compilation that was meant to be reverential. Just didn't feel right. This is a nice gesture to honor a member of our community. While not the strongest compilation you will hear it shows how much talent is on this forum. With almost an hour and a half of music tracks from different genres are well represented and as a member of this forum I'm happy to have given this a listen. I hope you enjoyed it Koen. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk

Artist: Lifeforms Title: Reanimation EP Label: Iono Music Date: July, 2013 1. Reanimation 2. Dream Catcher 3. Equinox "Careful when you hit it...it kicks like a twelve gauge when it comes on." Man this looks familiar. I don't even know why Iono has different artist names. I think the label is really just a master computer with an Artist Name Generator app (now available on iPhone.) Reason I say this is because no matter which artist releases an album or EP it's always the same type of homogenous, wide open, melodic progressive trance. Beautiful stuff to be certain and this is no exception. Floating melodies, great effects, and futuristic atmospheres are the hallmarks of this release. Well, all their releases really. The only complaint I suppose could be that it's the same great sounding stuff over and over again. But that's silly. Let me know when you get tired of staring at these. Beatport Mdk

Artist: Melicia Title: Running Out of Time Label: Phonokol Date: July, 2013 1. Experience 2. Running out of time 3. Freeman 4. Psychodeliya 5. Dancing up (dance mix) 6. Smash 7. Genesis 8. Sea Master 9. Illusion Quest "It seems...we are running out of time." If you picked out 50 of the all time cheesy full-on compilations and albums from the early to mid 2000's I'm willing to bet that Melicia was on 75% of them. Dude was everywhere and I believe him to be one of the harbingers of the Israeli full-on sound. And as we all know there have been an avalanche of derivative full-on producers that exploded onto the scene. Like a herpes outbreak at a frat party you just knew there were more coming down the line. Just looking at the Phonokol artist list on the Psyshop page makes me want to say Oy vey. It was one of the first albums I bought and it was aggressive. The samples spoke of aliens, and psychedelics, and there were movies I recognized. Realize I came from regular old trance where the vocals sometimes reminded me of house. Where the melodies were euphoric and sickeningly sweet. The bass lines here were punchy and rambled unlike the one note bass often found in trance. He put layers of crunchy sounds together and it was like a wall of powerful sound. Arpeggios filtered up and down the scale hit me just right. The tracks were long and seemed to get stronger as new melodies were added. But don't get it twisted. It's still full on and there are some tracks that make me want to jab a shrap pencil in my ear to end the suffering. Or at least parts of tracks. The house like female vocal in Psychodelia is just such an instance. I liked Smash, but could you cram any more samples in there? It's like a f*cking clown car. So if it sounds like I'm torn on this release, you would be correct. At times it can be powerful full-on and at others it's, well...full-on. And I think that's how it goes. The shelf life for full on is very short and this gets old rather quickly. Mdk

Artist: Dark Matter Title: How Cold Is The Sun Label: Cryo Chamber Date: July, 2013 1. Be Yourself For Me 2. Creature Called Human 3. Obscured By Clouds 4. Something Like...Home 5. Reality Is Just An Illusion 6. Of Fractured Light and Void 7. Every Empty Evening 8. Psychomachine Picture a frozen landscape and unending solitude. Or a deserted space freighter that should be full of crew. Just you and the sound of your own breathing. Perhaps the crunch of snow underneath your boot. Oh you'll hear voices and see things. Things like a people torn open. Blood splattered all over million dollar hardware. Things like the frost forming on your fingertips and your breath coming in ever shortening gasps. But is it the bone chilling cold or the shocking isolation that has you hearing and seeing things? Is it real or just...something else? Dark ambient bordering on drone can affect people differently. Some love the dark atmosphere and some think it's boring as hell. There are no beats to be found here so effects in this situation can make all the difference. Cryo Chamber is Simon Heath's digital label and it has done it again. The sounds of alien feasting in Creature Called Human is creepy and visceral speaking of an ancient evil that has been awakened. It rises to a cacophony of tortured souls. Something Like...Home is a downright pants sh*tter that will bring to mind all types of terrifying horror imagery. Other tracks rely on the hypnotic wail of drones to push you farther down into the darkness. If you love horror movies and aren't afraid of the dark, get this. It's cold, hypnotic and rife with terror. I found myself holding my breath on several occasions. But be warned...there is no daylight. There is no way out. Whether it's the cold of deep space or a frozen installation lush pads and effects will quicken the heart rate. You'll be carried away. Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Galactic Discovery Label: Goa Galaxy Date: July, 2013 01. Astralunka - Oniric Wild (8:15) 02. GoaAngel - Fallen Star (7:37) 03. Carbon - Enlightenment (9:08) 04. Structural Mind Engine - The Source (5:30) 05. GalaxyUnit - Dominators (7:39) 06. Shtrom - Electro Magnetic (7:54) 07. Somnus Inc. - In-Somnia (8:01) 08. Hybrid FX - Spirit Magic (8:13) 09. Cactus Arising - Our Destination (7:42) 10. OGO - Mystical Forest (6:17) Ahhh...Bulgaria. When not marveling at the pristine condition of their many excellent highways and majestic mountains this nation goes largely unnoticed. Why? Well, according to WikiHow: "It's famous for extremely beautiful girls who mostly act and dress like hookers." Clearly the minister of tourism's ad campaign savy outside the box thinking is meant to target the horny male demographic. Which means all men. Obviously being this close to Romania you'd think they could cash in on some of that Dracula money. But keep on walking with that bullsh*t says Romania. It ain't happening and I don't want to start a turf war. Well one third of the country is in the woods, they are big into wine (and yogurt for that matter) and you can get cheap property. What's not to like? Couple that with all the hookers and I can't help but think opportunity is passing us by. New Bulgarian netlabel Goa Galaxy is out with its first compilation (for free as well) bringing goa trance to the bagpipe playing masses. "Grease me up woman! These Bulgarians think they know how to play the pipes!" Like one would expect several styles are represented with varying degrees of quality. Got to crawl before you can walk. Ask DAT Records. No, don't ask Suntrip, those motherf*ckers came running out of the womb. While parts of it can sound less professional than the established labels, there is value to be found here. It sounds like a free compilation and some of the tracks sound amateurish, but don't let that deter you. Enlightenment is futuristic with great melodies and presence. It undergoes a change near the end that incorporates a folkish melody that works. Dominators is a solid old school goa trance track that captures the eerie quality of space (a theme the album is built around). And Spirit Magic is a churning descent into a black hole. So all in all it's not all bad. I just used all 3 times in a short sentence so mark the date and remember where you were. Anytime a label wants to release some goa trance I'm interested in hearing it if only to see where they try and take it. The fact that it was free was icing on the cake. There are some good moments here and I hope they keep at it. But don't do it for me. Do it for the hookers who travel those pristine roads. Goa Galaxy Mdk

Artist: Bell Size Park Title: Shroom Hunt Label: Timewarp Records Date: July, 2013 1. The Shroom Hunt 2. Interceptor 2013 3. Shambala 4. Goa Child (Into The Matrix mix) Bell Size Park used to be a trio that released an album called the Truth is There back in 96. I've never heard it so I can't comment on it. But these days it's a one man outfit. In 2011 he released Escape From Planet X EP on Dimensional Records which was psytrance and it didn't thrill me. Now here he is with his latest on ridiculously prolific Timewarp Records and this one I like. Most of it is a psy/techno hybrid with some goa elements. Evolving and constantly changing he shows his skill and it's pretty good. It sounds cold and very metallic with the exception of the title track. The Shroom Hunt is a page right out of the old school playbook with a very active and nimble 303. Easily my favorite of the EP. Nice work. Beatport Juno Download Mdk

Artist: Javi & Sko0ma Title: The Incredible Machine EP Label: Timewarp Records Date: July, 2013 1. The Amplitude 2. Spiritual War 3. Mentally Exhausting 4. Atomic Cocktail Some men name their penis. Oh God, it's gonna be one of those. The male mind really isn't that convoluted. You love a pet, you name it. Your penis has been with you since day one (in most cases) so there's obviously some attachment there. Why wouldn't you name it? So to those chicks constantly complaining that they don't understand men, well...you're either f*cking stupid or not really trying that hard. Ever seen how twisted a woman's mind can be? "Honey, does this make me look fat?" Tread carefully intrepid explorer. The answer is there is no answer. Sure there's the truth (you already have a fat ass and no matter what color or pattern you put on it it will still be fat), but she clearly doesn't want to hear the truth. But she also doesn't want you to say no because she knows she has a fat ass and if you say no you're a f*cking liar and her mother was right about you. But I'm off topic. Some men name their penis. Javi is Jonas Merelbeke from Belgium and he was part of the Aural Exciter EP as well as making an appearance on fabulous compilations like The Call of Goa and Blacklight Moments. Has anyone ever met Sko0ma? Does he even exist? I'm not saying Sko0ma is the name Jonas gave to his little man, but I'm not not saying it. (Yes I know his name is Stefan Merelbeke, just having a little fun with the low profile of Sko0ma. Geez lighten up will ya? You're not the boss of me.) Point is these two are brothers and are always together. They've done some fine work and I'm looking forward to what they lay down on this 4 track EP. The Amplitude has an extended intro which I love as the bubbling and electric hum vibrate. Sounds coalesce in a slightly discordant melody. The numerous mini breaks give it the opportunity to regenerate. But instead of a single tail it sprouts several multi-colored ones. Spiritual War- R2! Sounds like him anyway. This one is in a constant state of evolution. Slamming goa phrases one minute and churning interlude moments the next. It's melodies sound more "trance" like, but never does it stray into commercial territory. Not my favorite. Mentally Exhausting is probably the most belting track of them all. Growling from the outset it has a screeching 303 that quickly morphs and gets filtered. Then the layering begins. Buckle up! Atomic Cocktail also has a 303 that will sear the skin if you try and grab it. It's relentless pace sees quality layering of melodies. These last two are my favorite. He believes that every healthy person should try LSD...might be on to something. This is a very good EP that shows the talent of this duo. Not your everyday goa trance. Pure power surely, but more than that. They definitely should be on your radar if they weren't before. Amazon iTunes Juno Records Picture of a very large penis (Why would you click on that last link?) Mdk

Artist: Cosmic Dimension Title: Voyage In The Universe EP Label: Timewarp Records Date: July, 2013 1. Voyage In The Universe 2. Predicting The Future 3. Dark Side of the Universe 4. Alien Speech Cosmic Dimension are a fledgling goa trance project from Macedonia. Mace whatiya? Sounds made up. Like when we Americans add an "o" to English words and think we're speaking Spanish. They recently appeared on the latest stunning Suntrip offering Blacklight Moments and fit right in. This 4 track digital EP comes from the newly formed Timewarp Records. It's a sublabel of Ovnimoon so it seems right that these two entities found each other. The first thing that jumps out at me is the eye catching artwork with asteroids and a star. Excuse me, my son is trying to tell me that they might be meteoroids. Jeez, you check one book out at the library on planets and all of a sudden you're an astronomer? "Hey how about go make a meteoroid in the toilet, you've been farting all day!" As I was saying it tells you exactly what you will find inside. This is cosmic goa trance with layers and spiraling melodies. It sparkles and shines as one would expect from music that takes place miles above the planetary surface. The highs of racing comets are pleasantly balanced by juicy lows as breaks are punctuated with chopped up strings. Some leads scream and some shimmer like fragments from a massive collision. Of particular note is the all out power and relentless twisting and turning of Predicting the Future. All the tracks are pretty good...nah, they're damn good. They didn't reinvent the wheel here or attempt to sound old school. They just kept it goa. Cosmic goa. Like what this guy would listen to if he had his iPod. Beatport Juno Download Audiojelly Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Common Cold Remixes EP Label: Timewarp Records Date: July, 2013 1. Common Cold (Message To Earth Remix) 2. Common Cold (Screw Loose Remix) 3. Common Cold (Lunar Dawn Remix) 4. Common Cold (Dense Denso Remix) How is it we don't have a cure for the common cold? I'm really beginning to believe that a conspiracy is afoot. Male pattern baldness? No problem. Not so fresh feeling...down there...You bet. Grandpa needs more wee wee power? Of course. But somehow the common cold and its Jedi mind tricks have eluded and mystified the most advanced society in the history of civilization. McDonalds can get me to eat a McRib (whatever the hell that thing is), but I can't get rid of the sniffles. Unbelievable. New goa label Timewarp Records is right back at it with another digital EP release. The Common Cold Remixes are 4 tracks by a few projects giving their take on the Nova Fractal original from his first EP Main Sequence Star. As I've mentioned previously the purpose of a remix is to make something sound different from the original while still holding on to what made it recognizable. The original was heavily psytrance based so these remixes aren't a quantum leap from where they began. Where other releases were goa trance, all these tracks are more of the psy-gressive variety. Long unwinding melodies with great transitions into and out of the breaks. If you like long tracks and equate that with value then this is for you as you get almost 40 minutes of music. There is some good power to be found and what keeps these from being generic full-on remixes is the level of detail and lack of copy paste structure. Once again the number of remixes doesn't exhaust the listener and they all have their little...whatever that separates them. Pretty good. Juno Download Beatport Mdk

Artist: Various Title: Spiritual Doping Label: Neogoa Date: July, 2013 01 - Abstract Concepts - Toxic Feeling (85 BPM) 02 - Imba - Interspatial Vibrations (100 BPM) 03 - S.I.O.D. - The Truth Is Out There (135 BPM) 04 - Tavi - Gautama Buddha (The Awakened Sage) (80 BPM) 05 - JBC Arkadii - Molekula (101 BPM) 06 - Sky Technology - Transformation (100 BPM) 07 - Katedra - Eidos (? BPM) 08 - Sky Technology - Road To Nowhere (80 BPM) 09 - Language Of Love - Rasa Lila (Sinoah Edit) (114 BPM) "Turns out mathematics alone prefers the universe to be in 11 dimensions." Great. I just got a handle on three. When's my TV gonna do that? Neogoa is a digital label that has become such a vital part of the goa trance scene today. When he's not walking down lonely roads or changing his profile pic, Ivan Richpa is running the show. The Neogoa empire if you will. Releasing some of the highest quality stuff in the scene (for free I might add) he's also a very talented artist. If you love goa and actually buy the CD's I bet you have some of his art in your house right now. But running a label sounds like a lot of hard work and he doesn't do it alone. This new compilation was put together by Sky Technology (a great goa producer) and mastered by Stryder. The artwork was done by Ivan himself. Here's his site...not only does he do fabulous work, but he's also one of the nicest guys I've ever met. With this release you get nine tracks of down to mid tempo goa trance. When I first heard this I immediately began searching for a day where I could unload the kids and head to the nearest mountaintop. It's that type of music. Pack a lunch and listen to this while thousands of feet in the air. Melodies tumble over each other like individual water molecules and I can see each one. Catching the sun's rays they form a staircase of many colors. It brings me that much closer to the clouds and before I know it I'm on track six. The middle of this compilation is bursting with deep trance that elicits vibrant imagery. But I wasn't thinking about a thing. I was being. The music transports you and let's you dream aimlessly. Ever follow the flight of a hawk for 10 minutes? I did. And to my surprise when it was over I felt totally relaxed. I didn't have a spiritual experience, but I did get was a feeling of total respect and appreciation for nature and the beauty within this world. It's amazing what meditating high above the valley can do for you. It does have in my opinion on misstep. The first track doesn't seem to fit. It's jarring and loud and I skip it every time. Other than that and the annoying bubbling lead on the last track this journey was sublime. Perfect for getting lost even if you know right where you are. Free at Ektoplazm Mdk